11/17 Utah at Boston
5:30 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/NBA TV
Opponent record: 7-5
Season series: Jazz lead 1-0
The Utah Jazz have had a peculiar trend this season of facing teams missing their All-Stars. It happened in Houston with Chris Paul out, in New Orleans with Anthony Davis out and in Minnesota with Jimmy Butler out. Most recently, the Jazz faced off against the Boston Celtics while Kyrie Irving was out of action because he was attending his grandfather’s memorial service.
This time around, though, I have a feeling that Utah won’t be so luck. Kyrie Irving figures to be in action on Saturday and ready to give the Jazz a run for their money. Considering that opposing point guards have given Ricky Rubio and the Jazz fits and that backup point guard Terry Rozier was the Celtics leading scorer last time they played Utah, this could be an alarming development for the Jazz.
As much as Utah will want to earn yet another win over the team that allured their former All-Star Gordon Hayward away, and while I expect that in particular Jae Crowder will want to show out in front of his former Boston fanbase, I have a feeling this will be a tough one. The NBA schedulers didn’t do either team a favor this season, as Boston had to play in Utah on the second night of a back-to-back and now Utah has to play in Boston in that same situation.
It should be noted that it’s also a back-to-back for Boston who plays Toronto the night before, but it is a home-and-home set which isn’t quite as daunting.
In short, while the Jazz overall looked great against the Celtics last weekend and were able to use huge performances from Crowder and Joe Ingles to defeat them, I think they’ll be hard-pressed to replicate that against a solid Boston team. Even though the C’s have been somewhat inconsistent this year, they’re still as staunch as they come defensively and are primed to give the Jazz trouble as they seek for a revenge victory.
I think we’ll see another stellar battle, but that ultimately Boston will come out on top.
My Prediction: Celtics Win
Final Score: Boston 112, Utah 105
My, do we ever have a treat of a week ahead. Between a Grizzlies team that’s given Utah troubles, and Sixers and Celtics teams that have developed a sort of rivalry with the up-and-coming Jazz, there are bound to be some epic battles and big games. Though I have the Jazz pinned at 3-1, this week could certainly go the complete opposite way if Utah isn’t prepared and focused.
Let’s hope that they’ve bucked their early slow start and are ready to play like the dominant team they’re capable of being from here on out this season.